Articles By Erin Harris

Maintaining accurate, standardized product data across all channels is a priority, as consumers have learned to expect a seamless retail experience. Sam Copeland, vice president of merchandising operations for Office Depot, Inc., took time to discuss why expanding assortments and the demand for personalization are placing additional emphasis on the need for centralized master data.

Ever since I returned from ShopTalk, I’ve dedicated time to learning more about the startups that exhibited at the show, as well as others in incubation labs around the country. You’ll read more about startups in the May/June issue of Innovative Retail Technologies.

It shouldn’t surprise you to hear that ShopTalk 2017 was a hit. I walked away from the show more informed on the future of retail than when I was when I walked in. I suspect there are quite a few meetings and conversations taking place as retail execs share what they learned with their teams. In a nutshell, the content was top notch. Here are some of the sessions I attended and what I learned:

Our friend, Miya Knights, global retail technology director at Planet Retail, in partnership with Digimarc, just released an insightful report titled, “Harnessing the Power of Digital Transformation: The Ultimate Retail IT Therapy.” In her report, Knights explains the importance of harnessing digital transformation in omni-channel retailing. She writes, “Only through the digital modernization of their own automated systems will retailers truly be able to grow sales efficiently and enrich shopper engagement effectively at any and every physical and digital touch point.”

This headline may have you believe that the store is hanging on for dear life. While brick-and-mortar retailing isn’t on life support, brick-and-mortar retailing as we once knew it is. Just ask Macy’s, Sears, and The Limited. As e-commerce gains momentum by the day, over- and under-inventoried stores with ill-informed associates and aged technologies pose tangible issues for most brick-and-mortar retailers. Yet, there’s much more to resuscitating the store experience than any one 600-word article can tackle. For the sake of this article, let’s focus on a top brick-and-mortar concern we can all agree on — the associate’s ability to engage the customer.